Intellectual Journal

Summary:

·       Females 18 and over are 51% of the US population but only 17% of those convicted of a any felony

·       At all stages of the criminal justice system men are more represented than women.

·       Females are vastly underrepresented in the population of arrestees

·       Women are arrested at higher than average rates for theft 38%

·       21% of all females’ arrests are for larceny/theft and fraud.

·       Females made up only 19% of all drug arrests

·       38% of victims of female homicide are their own children.

·       36% of victims were females’ partner

·       Incarceration of females has sharply increased and some claim its for their own good. However, it is clear that drugs play a large role in female incarceration.

·       Another important factor is that most females arrested and incarcerated are minorities and poor, therefore they cannot make bail.

·       Women receive capital punishments are a far less rate than males only 1.6%

·       Women are subject to stalking and inter-partner crimes at a greater rate than males. Also female jurors are more likely to convict female’s offenders than male jurors.

Reflection:

            My major is criminal justice and my minor is sociology. As a result I have experienced a greater exposure to empirical research and intellectual discussion’s, regarding all aspects of our criminal justice system and our social environment, in which most of the public will never experience.  I suspect that a majority of our population holds a similar view towards women that I had prior to college. That general view of women being gentle, innocent, physically weaker, and more emotionally expressive than males.

            If my ignorant and over simplistic view of women prior to college was similar to a majority of American’s its no wonder women are vastly underrepresented in relation to arrests and convictions. That being said it’s also not surprising that women convicted or even just charged with a crime face a greater level of negative stigma. American’s for the most part do not want to imagine their female population being capable of committing the same violent crimes or any other crimes as their male population. Therefore, females are going to be charged and convicted at a much lower rate than males, given that we all know males do commit more crimes. Also though, since we do not want to imagine our female population in such a negative manner, when a females is in fact convicted we see her as being less of a female and more of male or even outcast.